Deidara Joins Akatsuki
by DEIDARA-CHAN96
Summary: Deidara is a powerful teenage ninja from Iwagakure, where he is constantly used to destroy enemies with his explosive art. But what happens when he is kidnapped by two rouge ninja from an organization called Akatsuki? His life will change forever.
1. Chapter 1

From one of the high mountains that towered over the great ninja village of Iwagakure, two mysterious looking men, one significantly taller than the other, stared down at its inhabitants. As the men, women, and children of the unsuspecting village walked across the many bridges that acted as roads, the men watched them carefully. This was because they were looking for someone in specific. The taller ninja sighed and turned his gaze to the other ninja.

"What are we waiting for, anyway?" he complained, grabbing the handle of a strange, bandaged blade that rested on his back. "If we get into a fight, I'll just kill all of the ninja who get in the way of the mission." There was a short moment of silence. Then the shorter ninja turned to his cohort. His expression showed no real emotion.

"Don't go starting fights," he said bluntly, "the point of this mission is to get the target out of the village without him getting hurt. If you go around smashing everything you see, then the mission will most definitely fail."

"Why don't we just go down there and search for him? That'd be way easier than this." The shark like ninja continued to complain. "After all, the kid does have mouths on his hands. It shouldn't be too hard to find him." The red eyed ninja looked back down at the village.

"We can't just attack anyone. We have to find the right person the first time." Slowly, the red eyed ninja reached into the left pocket of the coat and pulled out a photograph. In the picture was a 15 year old boy with long golden blonde hair, some covering his left eye and the rest tied in a low ponytail. His shown eye was gray blue. _'This will be your last day in this village' _he thought, looking at the picture. _'Soon you will be ours...Deidara.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere in the village ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was 7:00 a.m., and the people of Iwagakure were already awake and strolling around the village. Above their heads, Deidara jumped from roof to roof of the buildings of the village, his golden hair flapping in the wind. Behind him, he could hear the shouts of the Anbu Black Ops. "Damn it," the artist cursed, "I still haven't lost them. Why does this always happen to me, un?" This was the third time Deidara had refused a mission that week. Now the Tsuchikage was sending the Anbu to force him to do it.

But even if they caught him, Deidara promised himself he wouldn't do the mission. As he continued to hop from building to building, the blonde reached into one of the small pouches filled with white clay that were attached to his waist with his left hand. The oddly placed mouth on his hand began to chew the clay.

When it was finished chewing, Deidara shaped the clay into five small crane figures. This is why they were chasing him. Deidara was often hired by allied villages and organizations to use these small figures. They paid quite a lot of money to have him use his technique, and because he had refused to so this mission, The Tsuchikage was extremely angry.

"But they still don't understand," Deidara whispered to himself. Suddenly, Deidara turned around in midair, threw the cranes and did a few simple hand signs. The cranes tripled in size and began to fly on their own toward the Anbu in pursuit. "They don't understand that my art isn't some kind of weapon. That it's meant to show how fleeting art really is. They don't understand… that art…" Deidara made one more hand sign. "...is a BANG!"

Just as the cranes were a few inches from the Anbu, they exploded. The sound of the explosion was as loud as thunder. The people in the village weren't at all surprised. They knew all about Deidara's "art", and it was a very common thing to hear the explosions. Deidara landed on the ground, watching as colorful sparks from his jutsu rained onto the village. The children stared in awe at the beautiful colors. This made Deidara happy, to see people appreciate his art. But he continued to run, knowing that the Anbu were still following him.

The explosion wasn't powerful enough to kill them, and they would be back in pursuit soon. Deidara kept running until he reached an alleyway with a dead end. "Crap. What now, un?" the blonde panted. He looked back at the direction he'd come from. He didn't hear any footsteps. Then he looked in the shadows of the alley to make sure he some of the Anbu weren't waiting to ambush him. Still, there was no one. He sighed in relief. "Finally, I've lost them."

Deidara turned around and was about to walk out of the alley, when he bumped into something hard. When Deidara looked at what he had run into, he saw he'd bumped into someone wearing a long coat with red clouds on it. Deidara could also see a strange, bandaged sword-like weapon on his back The blonde could tell the person was a man because of how built he was. Deidara attempted to walk around the man, but instead, Deidara felt a large hand grab his forearm and pull him back, causing him to fall onto the ground.

"OW! What the he-" Deidara didn't finish his sentence as he looked up at the man in the strange coat. The man's skin was pale blue, his eyes were small and white, and he almost seemed to have gills on his face. In short, he looked like some kind of cross between a man and a shark. Then Deidara noticed his headband. The Kirigakure symbol on it was slashed. Deidara's eyes widened. This man was a rouge ninja. Deidara slowly reached for his waist to get more clay, when the strange looking man spoke.

"Don't even think about it." Deidara froze. How did he know? How did this person, that he'd never met or worked for, know that he was going to use his art? Who the hell was this guy? The man looked down at Deidara's hands, and watched as the long red tongues from Deidara's extra mouths emerged from them. He didn't seem surprised, which made the blonde feel even more awkward. "You know, you're a lot cuter then I thought you would be." The rouge ninja continued. "Maybe I'll go easy on you." The man smirked, showing his pointy white teeth.

"That is... if you behave." Deidara stood up quickly. He had been able to get some clay while the man had been talking. Before the man even known what had happened, he found himself surrounded by flying white insects. Deidara made his hand sign, and the clay exploded. The young artist was able to escape the blast just in time, and looked down at the smoke and dust from the top of one of the buildings that formed the alley.

"That was a little too close, un" Deidara sighed in relief. "But I guess I'll have to find a new hiding place. The Anbu probably saw that." But before he could even move, Deidara recognized the chakra of the same man he'd supposedly just blown up from behind him. Deidara wanted to move, but he couldn't. His shock had paralyzed him completely.

"Play time's over, kid." The rouge ninja whispered, evil intension filling his voice. Suddenly, the long bandaged sword swung at the blonde artist's head. Luckily, Deidara pulled out of his shock, and quickly dodged it. The rouge ninja smirked. "Not bad for a teenager." he complimented, lunging at the blonde again. Deidara glared at his assailant.

_'Let's see,'_ Deidara thought, _'What shape should I make this time?'_ Deidara's hand mouths had already finished chewing more clay. Now all he had to do was figure out which animal would be best for the attack. As Deidara continued to dodge the attacks, he shaped the clay, making sure that the rouge ninja wouldn't see.

At last, Deidara was far enough away from his opponent to attack. "Let's see you dodge this, un." Deidara grinned, tossing two bird figures at the stranger. Within a few seconds, The birds began to fly at the rouge ninja. Within another few seconds, the birds exploded.

Deidara jumped away and landed on a different side of the roof. He waited for the smoke to clear. Once again, the rouge ninja was gone. Deidara glared at the spot where the stranger had been standing. "Where did you go?" Deidara whispered to himself.

"Well, this is taking longer than I expected." a voice suddenly said. The rouge ninja was instantly in front of Deidara, who backed away, surprised. "It seems I've underestimated you, Deidara." Deidara swallowed hard.

"How do you know my name?" Deidara asked furiously. "Who the hell are you? What do you want from me?" The rouge ninja cackled.

"Oh, I'd don't want anything from you, kid." he insisted. "What I want...is you." Just then, the rouge ninja lunged at Deidara with amazing speed. Deidara was shocked by the sudden attack and tried to move out of the enemy's range. But before he could get away, a fist slammed into his gut.

Deidara gagged, while the rouge ninja only smiled. "It doesn't seem that I can convince you to come along quietly, so I guess I'll just have to take you by force." he grinned.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Deidara moaned, the blow to his gut taking affect. "Why are you doing this to me? If you want to kill me, why not just do it already, un?" the rouge ninja snickered.

"Don't worry, I won't be killing you. We've got other plans for you." he assured. he leaned closer to the blonde artist's ear. "Sweet dreams, kid..." Deidara glared weakly at his assailant.

"You...bastard..." he moaned softly, closing his eyes. As Deidara fell to his knees, the rouge ninja quickly caught him in his arms. Carefully, he draped the blonde artist's motionless body over his right shoulder, and then reattached the bandaged sword to his back. The rouge ninja could hear other people shouting from below. "I'd better get out of hear." he decided. "No doubt the Anbu have already found out where we are. With that the rouge ninja took off, taking Deidara with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~about 45 minutes later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_'Ugh,'_ Deidara thought, his eyes still closed. He was beginning to come to his senses, and so far, he could only here the clanking of metal hitting the ground and screams of pain. _'What happened...Where am I?'_ Deidara attempted to move his arms and hands. Unfortunately, they didn't obey. Deidara didn't need sight figure out that someone had tied him up. But he did need sight to find out who had tied him up.

Deidara's eyes began to flutter, and slowly, he opened them, and sat up. The rouge ninja from before stood only a few feet away from the large rock that Deidara was now laying against. The rouge ninja's strange bandaged weapon was now in his right hand. On the ground lay about 25 injured Anbu ninja and hundreds of kunai, shuriken and broken swords. The Anbu had strange wounds on their bodies, as if something had shred them. "Wha- What the hell- happened, un?" The rouge ninja turned his head to look at Deidara.

"Well, look who finally woke up. You have a nice nap?" he said sarcastically. "I hope you did, because you and I have to go now." Deidara stared at the man in confusion as he walked over. But before the blonde could even get out a few words, the rouge ninja had picked him up with his large arms, draped him over his shoulder and started walking away from the gory scene.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing? What is this, un?" the furious artist screamed.

"Well, this is Iwagakure. You should know that, kid. You live here." The rouge ninja answered sarcastically.

"Don't screw with me, un! Now tell me what's going on!"

"I'm kidnapping you."

"What! WHY!"

"That's for me to know and you to find out, kid."

Deidara struggled to move his tied arms and hands. "When I get out of this, you're gonna wish you'd never been born!" he threatened his captor. The rouge ninja only chuckled. Then he took something out from under his cloak and lifted it into Deidara's view. Deidara recognized the item as a belt he had been wearing with pouches filled with his clay still attached to it.

"How do you expect to defeat me without this, huh?" the rouge ninja mocked, waving the belt around. Deidara scowled.

"You bastard, un! You stole my clay!" Deidara screamed. "Your dead, you hear me, un? Dead!" The rouge ninja only snickered and continued walking away with his still struggling and screaming captive draped over his shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 75 threats later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deidara sighed. He had run out of insults and threats about 10 minutes ago. The rouge ninja was still carrying him, and they were nearing the main gateway of the village. There hadn't been a word out of either of them for a while now. So the bored artist decided to break the silence.

"Okay, it's obvious that you're not going to let me go," Deidara stated, "so, would it be alright to know the name of my kidnapper, un?" The rouge ninja turned his head to look at Deidara. He was once again showing off hid sharp teeth in a toothy smile.

"My name is Kisame Hoshigaki. But you can just call me Kisame." he answered. Deidara sighed again. Kisame meant Demon Shark. The name fit the rouge ninja well.

"Well, Kisame, are you going to tell me why you kidnapped me?" Deidara asked curiously. "I'm sure you must have some reason, un." Deidara had already thought of many reasons why he'd been kidnapped. But this was most likely for ransom or something like that.

"I can't really explain it to you so that you'll understand." Kisame answered. "I'm sure Itachi will explain it to you eventually." Deidara was slightly puzzled by Kisame's answer.

"Itachi, un? Who's Itachi?" Just then, Kisame rounded the last corner before the main gate and stopped. Deidara had to turn his head to see what the shark like ninja was staring at. When he did, he saw another man fighting with a few Iwa Jounin. This man wore the same cloak with red clouds as Kisame, but he was shorter, wore, and looked like he was only a few years older than Deidara. He wore a slashed Konohagakure headband, and his long black hair was tied in a low ponytail. His eyes were blood red, just as those of the Uchiha clan of Konoha. _'Oh.'_ Deidara thought. _'I guess that's Itachi.'_ When he finished off the last Jounin, Itachi turned and looked at Kisame.

"What took you so long?" he asked in an agitated sort of voice. "I told you not to start any fights." Kisame frowned.

"Oh, calm down, Itachi," he complained, "I only got into one fight with the Anbu. And they started it! They said I was ugly. Can you believe that? Me! Ugly! But I should those losers." Itachi groaned in annoyance.

"You're such an idiot sometimes. I don't know why I even put up with you." The red eyed ninja complained. "Did you capture him?"

"No, I've just been carrying a little puppy that I found on my shoulder this whole time. Of course I captured him!" Kisame said, finally dropping Deidara onto the ground. Deidara winced as he hit the ground, but quickly sat up. Itachi walked over to him and crouched down so that they were at eye level. For a while he just stared at the blonde with his emotionless red eyes.

"You're Deidara, right?" Itachi asked. Deidara nodded, not wanting to start an argument. "Good." Suddenly, Itachi picked the blonde up cradle style. "Then you're coming with us. Don't bother trying to resist." Deidara groaned; he was sort of discouraged that he was once again being carried away against his will. Itachi began walking out of the main gate, Kisame close behind.

As the three of them left the village, Deidara couldn't help but wonder who the two rouge ninja were and why they were taking him. But he supposed that they would tell him eventually. So he decided to take advantage of this and just relax. After all, this whole being kidnapped thing was pretty exhausting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Several hours later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are we there yet?" Deidara complained as the three ninja continued their walk through a dense forest. The captive blonde had finally convinced Kisame and Itachi to untie him and let him walk. But he was starting to regret it. By now, they were far from Iwagakure, and had been walking for miles since they'd left the village around 8:30 a.m. Now the sun was setting. And even though he was walking, Itachi stood in front of him, while Kisame stood close behind him, making sure that he couldn't possibly escape. Itachi slightly turned his head to look back at Deidara.

"We're not going to get there in one day." The red eyed ninja said bluntly. "We'll stop in the next town." Deidara sighed in relief. Even though they'd been out there for less than a day, it felt like it had been weeks since he'd slept. He supposed that Itachi and Kisame's constant bickering about what direction to go in and when to take breaks was what made the trip seem so much longer. But soon he could sleep all of this stress off.

They arrived in a small town just as the moon began to come out. It took them another ten minutes to find an inn to stay in. They rented one room for the night. It was a small room, with one bed, a couch, some chairs, a TV, and a small bathroom. As Deidara sat on the bed, Itachi threw a backpack at him. Deidara caught it before it hit him in the face.

"Open it." Itachi ordered. Deidara slowly opened the backpack, and was surprised to see it filled with clothes. His clothes from Iwagakure. "I got those from your house while Kisame was getting you." Itachi explained. "There should be a T-shirt and sweatpants for you to sleep in. If you want the bed, then take it."

Deidara quickly found the clothes and brought them into the bathroom with him. After untying his pony tail and taking a quick shower, Deidara put on oversized sleepwear, dried his hair, and combed through the golden threads with his fingers. By the time Deidara was done, the lights were out, and Kisame was already asleep on the floor. Itachi sat on the couch, his hair also untied from a ponytail. As Deidara got into bed, Itachi walked over to him, holding something behind him.

"I got something else from your house." He whispered, so not to disturb Kisame. Slowly pulled the item from behind his back. It was a stuffed panda bear, about two feet tall. "But I have no idea why you would have something so childish in your room." Deidara gasped with joy and took the panda from Itachi.

"Tomo!" he shrieked, hugging the bear tightly. "I missed you so much! I never thought I'd see you again, un!" the excited blonde turned to Itachi, who was staring at him with a what-the-hell-are-you-doing-face. Deidara smiled at the confused rouge ninja. "Thanks for bringing him to me." Itachi nodded and started back to the couch. "Itachi," Deidara whispered, causing the Uchiha to turn around to look at him again. "I've been wondering...why did you guys kidnap me, un?" Itachi walked back to Deidara's bedside and put his lips near Deidara's ear.

"We kidnapped you...so that you could join us, Deidara-chan." he answered in a low whisper. Then Itachi merely walked back to the couch and laid down on it, covering himself with a blanket he'd gotten from the closet. Deidara sat up in bed, confused by the answer. What was it that they wanted Deidara to join? Deidara sighed. He was sure it couldn't be all bad. After all, Kisame and Itachi had been treating him very well so far, and anything was better than being used as a weapon in Iwa.

"Maybe...this won't be so bad after all." Deidara decided, rubbing his eyes. With that, the blonde slipped under the covers of the warm blanket and pulled the panda bear closer to his chest. "Good night, Tomo," Deidara whispered before drifting off into a peaceful slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

Deidara, Itachi and Kisame stood outside of a small restaurant. "Do you really have to eat now?" Kisame complained. Deidara crossed his arms.

"I can't help if I'm hungry." he argued. "I haven't eaten since yesterday, considering that I was too busy being kidnapped, un." Kisame looked sort of annoyed. Itachi only sighed.

"Fine," Itachi agreed, "But we have to make it fast."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Twelve minutes later~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deidara bit into his third pork bun, a pleased expression on his face. Kisame and Itachi waited for the teenage artist to finish eating. "Geez, kid, how do you eat so much and still be so skinny?" Kisame asked. Deidara stared down at his food.

"I'm not really sure, un." he answered honestly. "I guess I just have a really fast metabol-" Deidara was interrupted when a kunai knife hit the table. Nobody else in the restaurant seemed to notice. Deidara turned his head slightly in the direction the kunai had come from, but Kisame and Itachi didn't move. Unfortunately, he didn't like what he saw.

Nearby stood two Jōnin; two Iwagakure Jōnin. "Ah, damn," Deidara muttered. The Jōnin approached the table, each with a kunai in their hand.

"Well, if it isn't the two rouge ninja from yesterday." one of the Jōnin said. He lifted his kunai, prepared to attack "It's about time we found you bastards. I believe you have something of ours." Deidara looked back at Kisame and Itachi, waiting for some kind of response. But the two still said nothing.

"Alright, brat," the other Jōnin said over-confidently. "It's time to go home now-"

"No." the blonde artist said sharply. The two Jōnin were surprised by Deidara's response at first, but their shock quickly turned to anger.

"What was that, you little punk?" the first of the Jōnin muttered. Deidara glared up at the two Iwagakure ninja with eyes that showed no fear.

"I don't care what you say. I don't want to go back, and you can't make me, un." The second Jōnin gritted his teeth angrily.

"Who the hell asked you what you wanted?" he seethed, trying not to draw attention from other people around them. "You belong to the ninja Iwagakure, and you're going back whether you want to or not."

"I don't 'belong' to anyone." Deidara protested. "Now go away and leave me alone, un!" The teenage shinobi's defiance caused Jōnin finally lost any patience they'd had.

"Enough of this!" the first Jōnin said sternly, roughly grabbing the blonde by his arm and pulling him to his feet. Deidara winced as the older men tried dragging him to the door. "Playtime's over, you stupid little-GAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Before Deidara had even realized what was happening, he found himself out of the Jonin's grasp and safely behind Itachi and Kisame. The two Iwagakure ninja had been thrown against the opposite wall, leaving a huge dent from the impact. As you can imagine, everyone in the restaurant was staring by now, completely in shock.

"What a couple of arrogant bastards." Kisame groaned, fed up with the Jōnin. "I thought they'd never shut up."

"Deidara, we're leaving. Now." Itachi decided, grabbing Deidara protectively and leading him toward the exit.

"B-But what about my pork buns?" the blonde artist stuttered, slightly flustered.

"Kisame, get the brat's buns and pay for the food." Itachi ordered as he led Deidara out the door. Kisame grabbed the food, left a bundle of money on the table and followed his partner.

"That should pay for the meal...and the wall." he shouted back as he left. The people in the restaurant watched as they left, still surprised.

"What strange people." a young waitress whispered to her friend and colleague.

"Yeah, but that blonde one was really cute. He didn't seem any older then fifteen." the other waitress pointed out. "I'd love to have a sweet looking guy like that as my boyfriend." The two girls swooned and stared at the door, not even paying attention to the two unconscious Jōnin on the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Four days later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been four days since Deidara had been kidnapped. But unlike most kidnapping victims, he was actually enjoying it. After all, he'd already tried to escape about three times; two times at night, and once during the day. Deidara had also tried to blow them up once. His antics had been to test how good they really were. Each time he'd tried to run away, Kisame and/or Itachi had caught him, and they had easily evaded his art. So Deidara had decided to just obey the two ninja, for they were obviously more powerful than him.

He'd learned a bit more about Itachi and Kisame's personalities by observing them. Kisame seemed sort of battle loving. It seemed that he actually enjoyed fighting with others and mutilating the people he fought with. On the other hand, Itachi seemed to know how to control his emotions. He also seemed to try and avoid battles when he could.

They were both so different from each other, which was why Deidara figured they worked so well together. But one thing still puzzled the blonde. Itachi had said that Deidara was supposed to join them. But what were they part of? And why choose him out of all the ninja in the world?

Just then, Itachi and Kisame stopped. Deidara, who had still been deep in his thoughts, bumped into them. "We're here." Itachi stated. Deidara moved from behind the two rouge ninja to get a better look. The blonde artist stared at the strange scenery before him for a good twenty seconds, before cocking his head and turning to Itachi.

"A mountain…with a moat, un." the blonde stated, confused. Below the three ninja was a moat of some sort, which was surrounded by a tall rock structure. "You mean you two kidnapped me, and we walked for four whole days, just so that you could take me to a mountain?" Itachi rolled his eyes.

"It's not a mountain." the Uchiha informed. Deidara looked back at the scenery for another ten seconds, before slightly nodding and turning back to Itachi.

"Your right…it's a mesa, un." the blonde decided with a big grin on his face. Deidara heard Kisame trying not to laugh. Itachi said nothing. He only stared at Deidara with a slightly annoyed looking expression on his face.

"Get down there before I hurt you, little boy." the Uchiha said sternly. Deidara shrugged and hopped off the ledge, landing perfectly on the water of the moat. Kisame and Itachi came shortly after. Now that they were down there, Deidara noticed a large boulder lying against the side of the mesa, and a red torii in front of that. A seal was on the boulder.

"So," Deidara pondered, "You wanted to take me to the boulder leaning against the mesa, un?" Once again, Kisame tried not to laugh. Itachi ignored Deidara's question. He quickly made a single hand sign. As soon as he did, the seal started to glow. Deidara almost lost his balance on the water as the ground suddenly started to shake. But the curious blonde continued to watch as the large boulder rose revealing a large opening in the mesa.

'Whoa, un.' Deidara thought. As soon as the hidden door was open enough, Kisame grabbed Deidara's arm firmly and began to drag him inside. Itachi followed. As Deidara entered the dark cave, he felt a strange feeling come over him. As if something amazing and life changing was about to happen. When they were all inside, Kisame let go of Deidara's arm, and the boulder slowly moved itself back to its original position, once again hiding the secret cavern.

"Well kid," Kisame asked, "Do you know what happens now?" Deidara looked around the empty cave, curious of the meaning of the place he'd been brought to. It was quiet, and it didn't seem to be a place that many people came to. Deidara turned back to Itachi and Kisame nervously.

"Did you bring me here so no one can hear my screams as you chop me up into little bite size pieces and feed me to some kind of carnivorous animal, un?" Deidara asked. Kisame and Itachi looked at Deidara, then at each other, and then back at Deidara.

"Do the words, 'we kidnapped you so that you could join us' mean nothing to you?" Itachi asked. Deidara had almost forgotten that the two rouge ninja weren't planning to kill him. But he was still confused about this whole 'joining them' thing.

Deidara was taken out of his thoughts by the sound of an opening door. He noticed that Itachi and Kisame weren't in front of him anymore. Deidara turned around, and saw an opened trap door on the floor of the cave. It must have been covered up by dirt. Deidara walked up to the opening and noticed that there was stone staircase going down into the darkness of the trap door.

"Walk." Itachi commanded, surprising Deidara. The Uchiha was now standing behind him. Deidara hadn't even heard him move. Slowly, Deidara began to walk down the stone staircase, Itachi close behind him. When the blonde had taken about ten steps, he heard Itachi close the trap door, causing everything in front of him to go completely dark. But he kept walking, trying to make sure that he didn't hurt himself in the process.

After a few minutes, Deidara was able to see a surprisingly bright light at the end of the dark tunnel. As he walked off the last step and looked up, he was even more surprised at what he saw. It has a hallway, with doors and entrances to other rooms. Deidara was able to look into one of the rooms without a door.

It was a pretty big room, with three couches, a couple of arm chairs, a coffee table, a bookshelf, and a flat screen TV. It was like a basic living room. This was surprising to Deidara, because the last thing you expect rouge ninja to care about is flat screen TVs.

But as he was looking into the room, Itachi grabbed his wrist and began to pull him down the hallway, taking Deidara out of his thoughts. "Where are we going, un?" Deidara asked curiously. Itachi turned his head to look at Deidara, but continued to walk.

"I'm taking you to Leader's office." Itachi answered. "He wants to see you. Kisame's already there." Deidara gulped quietly. They had a Leader? Who was he? Was he the one who had ordered Itachi and Kisame to kidnap him? And what did this Leader want with him? All these questions in Deidara's mind made his heart race. But he tried to stay calm.

While walking through the numerous hallways, Deidara heard noises from behind some of the closed doors. Most of these noises were voices, but Deidara couldn't tell what they were saying. But one of them sounded like pieces of something being put together, like wood or something like that. It made the blonde wonder if there were more of these people, maybe a whole lot of them. Finally, Itachi stopped at the end of one of the hallways. Kisame was standing outside a wooden door.

"And I'm the one who takes too long to do things." Kisame teased. Itachi rolled his eyes. Then the Uchiha let go of Deidara's wrist, took his right hand and knocked on the door.

"Enter." a masculine voice said from the inside of the room. Kisame opened the door and walked in, and Itachi gave Deidara a gentle push into the room and then walked in and shut the door behind them.

The lighting was dim in this room, and was pretty much empty except for a desk two large black leather office chairs, one on each side of the desk. Deidara could make out a person sitting in the chair at the farther side of the desk. He wore the same cloak as Kisame and Itachi, but Deidara couldn't see his face in the dim light.

"We have brought him to you, Leader." Itachi said, pushing Deidara forward a little.

"Good," the man in the chair said, "You may leave. Your mission is complete." Itachi and Kisame turned around, opened the door, and left the room. . Deidara watched as they shut the door, and turned back around to face the man.

"At last we meet, Deidara-chan." the man said. Deidara would have been scared if he wasn't already used to people he didn't know knowing his name. But he was afraid of what was about to happen to him, so he couldn't bring himself to move, or even speak. The man sensed that Deidara was feeling awkward. "You don't need to be afraid." he assured. "I'm not going to hurt you. I only wish to talk to you about something."

The nervous blonde stood still for a few seconds more, but was able to bring himself to walk over to the desk, his heart racing from fear and excitement. "Sit." the man told him. Deidara sat down in the other leather chair. The blonde artist could now see the man's face. He had spiky orange hair, piercings on his face, and a slashed Amegakure head band. In truth, he was sort of scary, yet handsome.

"I apologize for having you kidnapped," the man confessed, "But it was the only way I could talk to you without your village finding out what was going on." Deidara felt like his heart was going to explode from the stress. But he felt calmer than before, now that he knew that he wasn't going to be hurt, at least for now.

"Who are you, anyway, un?" Deidara asked.

"The two who brought you here and I are only three of the members of a criminal organization called Akatsuki, and I am their leader." The man answered. "But those who are not in this organization refer to me as Pein." Deidara's eyes widened slightly.

He'd heard this name before. He'd once overheard a meeting back in Iwagakure, and the topic had been about an S-rank criminal known as Pein and protecting the village from him. Could this be him? "Do you know why you're here, Deidara?" The blonde artist crossed his arms.

"I guess I do, un." Deidara answered, unsure of his response. "That Itachi guy told me that I'm supposed to be joining something. So, is this "Akatsuki" thing what he meant, un?" Pein smirked slightly.

"That's exactly what he meant." he answered. "I want you to be the newest member of my organization." Deidara was quite surprised that one of the most powerful criminals in the world would want him. It didn't add up in his head.

"But why?" Deidara asked, curious. "Why choose me? I'm nothing special; just a teenage ninja from Iwaga-" Deidara didn't get to finish. Pein had placed his finger on the blonde's lips, signaling him to stop talking.

"It's interesting that you think that, Deidara," Pein continued. "I think that your one of the most special people in the world." The Akatsuki leader leaned closer to Deidara, looking him straight in the eye. "After all, no one else in the world can do what you do." Deidara's body tensed up a bit. The two sat in silence for a short time.

"You…you know about my power…about my art, un?" Deidara asked, breaking the silence. Pein nodded slightly, not saying a word. Deidara was quite surprised and impressed that this man knew so much about him. So they sat there for a while, looking each other straight in the eye. After almost 20 more seconds of silence, Pein finally spoke.

"Show me your hands, Deidara." he requested, putting out his own. Deidara slowly laid his hands into Pein's, revealing both of the mouths on his hands. The mouths opened, and the toughs squirmed around for a while. "Amazing." Pein said, observing the mouths. "This is how you make your explosions, yes?" Deidara nodded. Pein released both hands.

"Deidara, these mouths, your sculptures, your art- it's a gift." Pein explained. "And that gift is wasted on your village. They don't understand you or your art, do they? They use you for their own gain, force you to do their bidding, treat you like a slave." Deidara didn't know what to say, for this was exactly how he felt.

"But I understand, Deidara. You wish to show the world how art is fleeting, and only lasts a moment. Join us, Deidara, join Akatsuki, and you'll be able to do that. But go back to your village, and you'll never get the respect you deserve. The choice is yours." Deidara sat still, as if he were a life sized doll, for a whole minute. Not a single noise was heard during those sixty seconds. But when it was over, the blonde spoke the words that would change his life forever.

"I'll do it." Deidara responded. "I'll join Akatsuki."


	3. Chapter 3

Deidara and Pein sat in silence for another few minutes. Pein smirked and leaned back in his chair. "I'm glad you made the right decision, Deidara." he acknowledged, "Of course, we'll have to prepare you to meet the other members. But I'll have Konan take care of that." Deidara cocked his head, confused. Who was this Konan? Just then, the door to the office opened with a faint creaking noise. He heard someone speak from behind him.

"You wished to speak with me, Pein?" a feminine voice asked. Deidara turned his head around to look at the person. It was a woman, with blue hair tied up in a bun, the same cloak (which Deidara now considered the uniform for the organization), and a white flower in her hair. She was quite beautiful, and seemed to be about the same age as Pein. Deidara took a guess and decided that this must be Konan.

As if she had read his thoughts, Konan noticed Deidara sitting in the chair, and her eyes widened. Deidara knew what this meant, for he'd experienced the same look with many other women and girls.

"He's so cute!" Konan sang out, running over to Deidara and hugging him in a warm, motherly embrace. "What's your name, sweetie?" Deidara, still surprised by the hug, brought himself to answer.

"Deidara." The blonde answered worriedly. "I'm Deidara, un." Konan shrieked again and hugged Deidara even tighter.

"Awwww, what a cute name! You're not even sixteen yet, are you?" she exclaimed. "Pein, why didn't you tell me he was so cute? Look at him; I could just eat him up!" Pein sighed.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd be doing something like this." Pein answered. "Now please, Konan, try to pull yourself together. I need you to get him ready to meet the other members." Konan nodded, took Deidara's hand gently, and led him out of the office. Deidara was sort of glad to get back into the light of the hallway. He felt the strange chills from before leave his body. Konan led Deidara through some of the many hallways, until they reached another door.

When Konan opened it, Deidara saw that it was a large bathroom. Konan began to fill the bathtub with hot water, and told Deidara to take of his clothes. Deidara made sure Konan wasn't looking before he removed his clothing. But once he was in the hot water, he felt a calming sensation come over him. After all, he hadn't taken a bath in days.

"When you're done, I'll bring you your new clothes, Deidara-chan." Konan said. "Then once you're done dressing, I'll introduce you to the others, including your new partner." Deidara cocked his head in confusion again.

"What partner, un?" the blonde asked curiously. Konan thumped herself in the head lightly.

"Oh, that's right! You don't know all the details yet." Konan remembered. "You see, here in Akatsuki, everyone has a partner that they complete missions with. For example, Itachi and Kisame are partners, and their mission was to bring you here. I'm Pein's partner, and I'm going to take you to meet your partner, understand?" Deidara nodded.

Konan smiled, and left the blonde artist alone in the steamy bathroom. As Deidara sat in the soapy water, He couldn't help but wonder about the other members of the organization. Would they like him? Or would he be an outcast? But one thing really rattled Deidara's mind: who was his partner?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few minutes later, in the living room~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A man wearing the Akatsuki cloak sat on one of the couches in the living room. He had quite a pretty face, short red hair, and brown eyes. He was fiddling around with a puppet, which he used in combat, trying to make sure that it was working properly. But his peaceful work was interrupted by loud yelling. The man groaned.

Two other men wearing the Akatsuki cloak came into the living room. One of them had medium length silver hair, reddish purple eyes, and was screaming and yelling, while the other man's face was covered by a white hood and black mask, and only his eyes with green pupils and red scleras were seen. He was trying to ignore the silver haired man.

"Oh come on, Kakuzu!" the silver haired man raged. "It's just damn money. I don't see why you making such a fucking big deal about!" the man in the mask glared at his partner.

"The big deal is that you're wasting my money away, Hidan." he seethed. "At this rate, I'll be broke by next week!" As the two men, better known as Hidan and Kakuzu, sat on a different couch and continued arguing, the red headed man tried to ignore them and continued working on his puppets.

He was just about to fully drone out his to cohorts, when out of nowhere, Itachi and Kisame came up to him from behind. "Boo." Itachi whispered. The red head almost dropped the puppet he was working on. He glared at Itachi, who merely walked away with Kisame to another couch. The two began talking about something.

The puppet master once again attempted to get back into his work. But suddenly, as if on cue, Sasori heard a loud sort of rumbling sound. He looked up to see a sort of plant like figure, specifically a Venus flytrap, sticking out of the floor. The plant opened slightly revealing a head with a face that was half black and half white. The red head groaned. "What do you want, Zetsu?

"We just wanted to see," the white half started, "_**If you remembered what happens today**_." The black half finished. The red head looked back at his work and continued fiddling with it.

"What's so special about today?" the puppet master asked, not really caring. Zetsu snickered.

"He doesn't remember." The white half laughed. "_**Sucks for him**_." The black half joked. Then the plant closed again. The read head sighed in relief, perhaps he could finally get back to his work without any more interruptions. But of course, before he could get lost in his work, a male voice shouted out from behind him.

"HI, SASORI!" The red head, better known as Sasori, silently pulled out a scroll and sealed the puppet away, knowing that with the noise from the other members, he would never get anywhere with his puppet. He turned his head slowly, an irritated look on his face, to look at the orange masked idiot who dare call himself a criminal.

"What, Tobi?" Sasori groaned. Tobi hopped over the couch and sat down next to the annoyed puppet master.

"Do you remember what happens today?" Tobi asked excitedly. Sasori wasn't in the mood to play games with this idiot, so he just shrugged his shoulders, hoping that Tobi would leave him alone. Tobi gasped in a joking way. "You mean you forgot! Tobi is very disappointed in you." Tobi teased shaking his finger. "Today's the day that you get...your new partner."

Sasori felt like he'd been hit in the head with a brick. He'd completely forgotten about that. But in order to keep his dignity, he didn't show it in front of Tobi. "I knew that." Sasori groaned. "I was just testing you."

"Oh." Tobi said. "Well, anyway, the best thing happened to Tobi yesterday. So, Tobi was walking around the base, when I saw..." Sasori droned out Tobi's babbling nonsense, along with the other conversations he heard. He was deep in his own thoughts at the moment.

"Stupid new guy," Sasori thought, "Why do I even need a new partner? I'd do fine on my own. A partner would just slow me down. Besides, he's probably some idiot who doesn't even know what he's doing." Sasori hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings, and almost jumped when he heard an angry yell.

"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOTS!" Konan screamed. Sasori and the other members jumped a bit and stared at Konan, who was standing in the doorway. "I've been trying to get your attention for almost five minutes now, so zip it and listen to what I'm telling you! Got it!" The seven men nodded quickly. Konan sighed, regaining her composure. "Good." Kisame smirked.

"You didn't turn him into a life sized doll, did you?" the shark joked. Konan glared at Kisame and stuck out her tongue. Then she went back out the doorway. Sasori groaned and turned back around.

"Come on, don't be shy. I'll make sure they don't hurt you." Sasori heard Konan comfort someone. Oh great, the new partner. Sasori sighed and decided that he might as well look at this guy. But when Sasori turned around, he saw something he wasn't expecting.

The Akatsuki men, except for Kisame and Itachi, stared in awe at Deidara in his new clothes. The blonde was standing closely next to Konan, and trying to hide behind her. He wore the Akatsuki cloak, and his hair was now tied min a high ponytail that sat on the top of his head. His Iwagakure headband was slashed.

"Guys, this is Deidara." Konan said, motioning toward the blonde teenager. "He's our new member. He possesses a very special power that we need, and you guys are going to give him a nice warm welcome."

The Akatsuki were still silent, making Deidara feel like a small animal being preyed on by a pack of ferocious lions. 'Why me? Why is it always me?" Deidara thought, 'These guys are gonna kill me, un. And then probably eat me for breakfast.' But Deidara didn't finish his thought, because all of a sudden, he was struck down by a flash of orange.

"Hi, new boy!" Tobi sang out after he pinned Deidara to the floor. "I'm Tobi. Wow, you're really girly looking. Do you like nuts? Tobi likes nuts. Peanuts, chestnuts, pistachios, but not walnuts. Walnuts make Tobi go crazy. Tobi went crazy once. They put me in a big white box. But Tobi liked that big white box. Before the others broke me out, they put two flowers in the box, a tall one and a short one. But the tall one kept bending down and tickling Tobi's nose. It drove me nuts. Nuts… Tobi likes nuts. Peanuts-" But before Tobi could finish, Hidan pulled him off of Deidara and thrown him somewhere else.

"So, what's a pretty face like yours doing in a fucking ugly place like this?" he asked sarcastically, pulling the blonde artist to his feet. Deidara felt his face turn red, some from anger and some from embarrassment.

"You do realize that I'm a guy, don't you, un?" the blonde asked. Hidan smirked.

"Doesn't matter to me. I'm sure we could find some way to make it work." Hidan said, holding Deidara's face with only his thumb and index finger. Luckily for Deidara, Konan slammed Hidan's head into the floor before anything else could happen.

"Knock it off, asshole!" she yelled. She looked at the others. "Does anyone else want to do something stupid?"

"I'm good as long as he doesn't spend too much money." Kakuzu replied.

"He's cute. It's a shame we can't eat him." The white half of Zetsu said. "_**At least not without teriyaki sauce**_." The black half continued. Deidara shuddered a bit at the strange comments from his new comrades. But something else caught his attention on the other side of the room.

"Hey, who's that guy trying to sneak out that door over there?" the curious blonde asked. Konan turned her head, and immediately, her face showed anger.

"SASORI! ARE YOU TRYING TO SNEAK AWAY!" Sasori froze in his tracks. Damn it! He'd been so close to sneaking out of the room. The puppet master sighed and turned around to face an infuriated Konan. "I can't believe that you'd try and sneak off like that, and in front of your new partner, no less! You're supposed to set a good example!"

Sasori was able to drone out Konan, and looked over at the blonde teenager that was now his new partner. "He's...cute? My new partner...is cute!" Sasori hung his head in disgrace. He had a feeling that this was going to be a very long and interesting partnership.


	4. Chapter 4

"Wow, this room is huge!" Deidara exclaimed as he and Sasori walked into a large vacant bedroom. "Is this all for me, Sasori-no-Danna, un?" The puppet master twitched slightly. There was that name again. Sasori had just finished showing Deidara around the base. And ever since they started, the blonde had started calling Sasori his "Danna". Even though Sasori knew that Deidara was referring to him his master, the word "Danna" was also a term wives could call their husbands. And it didn't help that Deidara was sort of...girly-looking.

Sasori watched his new partner empty out the contents of the medium size backpack he'd been carrying all day. Deidara threw clean clothes in the closet, muddy clothes on the floor in a pile, and put a hairbrush on the dresser.

The last thing Deidara pulled out was Tomo. Deidara held his panda bear close to his chest and smiled, while Sasori watched, with even more distress showing on his face. '_A stuffed bear!_' the puppet master cried in his head. '_He has a stuffed bear, too? Oh great, now he's twice as girly then before! Why me? Why is it always me? I can't live like this!_' Sasori's thoughts were interrupted by Deidara, who was tugging on his cloak sleeve.

"Danna, why are you staring off into space with such a distressed expression?" the blonde asked. "You're kinda creeping me out, un." Sasori turned to his new partner and looked him straight in the eye.

"Now look, brat, because I'm only gonna say this once. If you think this is some silly little game, you're wrong." Sasori said in a serious tone. "This is an S-Rank criminal organization, and I don't want you getting all cocky. Now, if we're going to make this work, you need to follow my five basic rules. Understand?" Deidara nodded. "Okay. First rule; I'm in charge. Whether we're on a mission together or here, when I tell you to do something, you do it. Second rule; stay out of my room. You have no business going through any of my things, so stay out. You got that, brat?" Deidara nodded again.

"Third rule; don't bug me when I want to be alone. If you do, I'll kill you so fast, and you won't even know that you're dead at first." the puppet master continued. "Fourth rule; don't make a fool out of me. The last thing I need is someone else making me look stupid. And finally, the most important rule of all; don't ever touch my puppets, including me." Deidara eyes widened slightly. "Yes, brat, I'm a puppet. A living, breathing, puppet. I turned myself this way in order to become more like my art. My puppets are my greatest achievement; my works of eternal art. And you are never to touch them." Deidara grinned slightly.

"Don't worry, I won't touch them." Deidara assured. "Especially because they're a mockery of true art, un." Sasori's eyes flared up instantly with anger. He grabbed Deidara by the collar of his cloak.

"What did you just say, brat!" Sasori raged. Deidara laughed softly, even though Sasori was ready to kill him.

"I'm just saying true art isn't meant to be eternal." Deidara answered calmly. "Art is only a moment of beauty. It should only last a few seconds and is gone in the next few seconds, un." Sasori glared at Deidara angrily, released his grip, and crossed his arms.

"What kind of explanation is that?" Sasori asked, with anger still in his voice. "What would a brat like you know about art?" Deidara smiled again, before pointing to something on top of Sasori's head.

"See that butterfly on your head, un?" Sasori looked confused, but looked up to see that a small white butterfly resting on his red hair, gently moving its symmetrical wings up and down.

"So what? That doesn't prove your point at all!" Sasori said with irritation. "What does a stupid little butterfly have to do with art being fle-"

"Katsu." Deidara said calmly, making a seal with his hand. Before the puppet master even knew what hit him, the butterfly on his head exploded, causing his vision to be blinded by smoke. Sasori was so startled that he fell backwards and hit his head on the floor. When the smoke cleared, Sasori's hair was slightly singed and his face covered in soot. Deidara leaned down next to him. "And that, Sasori-no-Danna, is what I consider to be true art, un." The puppet master turned his head and glared at his blonde partner. Then he glanced up at the ceiling and sighed.

"Note to self," Sasori groaned, "Avoid small white animals."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 hour later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sasori and Tobi sat on the living room couch, Tobi watching cartoons and Sasori bruiting. The puppet master was still angry about being so easily caught off guard by Deidara. '_Like having a girly looking partner wasn't bad enough._' Sasori thought. '_He's also a stuck-up, naïve little bastard!_" Just then Tobi started tapping Sasori's shoulder.

"Hey, Sasori, did you really get beaten by the new boy? Because Zetsu told Tobi that everyone's talking about it." Tobi bantered. "So did you? Did he really defeat you? Because if he did, that's pretty sad. And all this time Tobi thought that you were the smart one, but I guess you're just a weak-" Sasori turned his head and glared at Tobi, a murderous look in his eyes. "-ling." Tobi squeaked in fear. Sasori grabbed Tobi by his hair and yanked on it. "OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW! TOBI'S SORRY! TOBI'S SORRY!" Tobi screamed.

"I didn't lose to him." Sasori seethed. "He merely caught me off guard and attacked me when I wasn't expecting it. It's never going to happen again. Understand!" Tobi nodded, terrified for his life. Sasori threw him to the floor. The only person the red head hated more than Deidara at the moment was Tobi.

"Tobi's hungry." Tobi stated, picking himself off of the floor. "Will you get Tobi something to eat, Sasori?" The puppet master groaned, but got up and began walked out of the living room and into the hallway, Tobi following close behind. But when Sasori reached the kitchen door, what he saw surprised him. Crowding around the kitchen door were the other members, including Pein and Konan. They were looking through the slightly opened wooden door, and talking amongst themselves.

"He looks like a housewife." Kisame mocked.

"I think he's looks cute." Konan disagreed.

"This so proves that he's a girl who got a sex change." Hidan insisted.

"Shut up, Hidan." Kakuzu ordered.

"You shut up, bitch!" Hidan barked.

"Both of you shut up." Pein demanded.

"Why are we doing this again?" Itachi wondered.

"That apron makes him look tasty." White-Zetsu commented. "_**Very tasty**_." Black-Zetsu added.

"What the hell are you guys doing!" Sasori interrogated.

"Can Tobi see? Tobi wants to see!" Tobi squeezed throw the others and peered through the cracked door. "Wow, he looks so pretty!" Tobi complemented.

"Move." Sasori ordered, pushing Tobi out of the way. Sasori looked through the small opening in the door. When he did, the puppet master was surprised, disturbed, and slightly embarrassed by what he saw. It was Deidara. He was wearing a T-shirt, a pair of loose pants, and a black apron that went from his chest down to his knees. His hair was tied back with a red bandana. On the kitchen stove were four pots of different sizes. Deidara was stirring some sort of liquid in the largest pot. Anyone could figure out that the blonde artist was cooking food. Sasori groaned. "You really do hate me, don't you, brat?" Sasori groaned.

"He's probably bi or something like that." Kisame insisted.

"You guys are so stupid. He's just a boy who happens to be skilled in culinary arts." Konan protested. "I think it's good for a boy to know how to cook. He's going to make a good husband one day."

"You know, for someone who has suckish cooking skills, you sure seem like you know a lot about stuff like this." Hidan noted.

"What did you just say!" Konan raged, grabbing Hidan by the collar.

"Hey, you know what?" Tobi interrupted. "Tobi just realized that if we're all leaning against this door, it shouldn't be able to hold up." As if on cue, there was a loud crack sound.

"Damn you, Tobi." The others said in unison. The door broke off the hinges, causing all nine of the spying Akatsuki members to fall to the floor face first. Deidara, who wasn't at all startled by the noise, turned away from the stove and looked at his new cohorts. Then he smiled and turned back to the stove.

"You know, if you guys wanted to know what I was doing, you could have just came in and asked me instead of spying on me. I'll be done with dinner in a half hour, ok?" The slightly embarrassed Akatsuki stood up quickly. They were silent and still for a while. Then Pein snapped his fingers, and suddenly the members formed a circle and started whispering about something, excluding Deidara from the conversation. When they broke, Konan was the first to speak.

"So what you're saying is that you're cooking dinner...for us?" She asked. Deidara nodded and continued stirring. "Awwww! You are just too cute! Isn't he too cute you guys?" The others just grumbled as a response. Konan's eyes flared up with murderous anger instantly. "I said... isn't he too cute!" she asked again furiously. This time, the terrified men nodded quickly in fear of their lives. Konan quickly became happy again. "That's what I thought."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About half-hour later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Akatsuki sat at their traditional Japanese dining table, staring in awe at the huge feast that Deidara had prepared. The blonde had really gone all out. There was fried rice, various types of sushi, curry rice, ramen noodles in pork and chicken broths, curry bread, tempura, fried pork cutlets, rice balls, dumplings with different sizes and fillings, pork buns, skewered chicken and vegetables, sukiyaki, takoyaki, grilled dango, mochi, brown sugar cake, melon buns. The Akatsuki had never before seen so much delicious looking food in one place. In fact, they had never seen such delicious food.

"Yay! We don't have to eat canned tuna for dinner, anymore!" Tobi exclaimed

"I officially vote that Deidara is the best new member ever." Kisame decided.

"This must be a dream!" Konan swooned, "But if it is, I never want to wake up!"

"Well, I guess it's better than the crap we usually eat." Hidan admitted. "It looks better, anyway."

"This is terrible! Do you realize how much money he's wasted by cooking all of this stuff!" Kakuzu agonized.

"Get over it, Kakuzu." Pein dictated.

"It's almost looks like food that's only found in dreams," White Zetsu began. "_**Except without all-you-can-eat corpses**_." Black-Zetsu continued

"Well, I guess it's pretty good," Sasori groaned, "For a brat anyway."

"Hn," Itachi added.

"Well, I hope you guys like it. I worked really hard on it." Deidara exclaimed, his eyes shining like blue glass marbles. "You can start eating if you want. I have to go turn off the tea." As Deidara went back into the kitchen, the Akatsuki stared back down at the food again.

"So, who's going first?" Konan asked.

"Like I said, it looks better," Hidan restated "But the question is if it tastes better."

"I say that Leader should go first, since he's the leader." Kisame proposed. The others nodded and stared at Pein.

"Oh fine, I'll go first." Pein groaned, picking up a pork bun. "But I don't see what the big deal is." The Akatsuki stood motionless as Pein took a first bite. As soon as he did, Pein's eyes widened, and stood very still. The others waited a good 30 seconds for their leader to say something, but he didn't respond.

"Konan, he looks dead." Tobi noted, "Is Leader dead?"

"Pein," Konan asked nervously, "Are you ok?" At last, Pein swallowed the food.

"Konan," Pein began, taking another bite into the pork bun, "I don't know why, but I feel like I've just died and been reborn." The Akatsuki looked confused by the odd response.

"Pein, what are you talking about?" Konan asked, picking up a dumpling with her chopsticks and plopping it into her mouth. "That doesn't make any se-" Suddenly, Konan had the same wide-eyed expression on her face. "Oh...my...god!" she exclaimed. "It's like I've just realized the true meaning of life!" By now, you can assume that the rest of the Akatsuki were quite confused; and you would be correct.

In an attempt to find out what the big deal was, the other members each grabbed something from the table and took a bite. Only a mere second later, their faces looked the same as Pein and Konan's had only a short minute ago.

"Holy mother fucking Jashin!" Hidan exclaimed.

"Tobi thinks he's in love!" Tobi sang out, stuffing his face with takoyaki.

"It's almost as great as money." Kakuzu admitted.

"Best...new guy...EVER!" Kisame affirmed.

"I haven't eaten something this good since I first tasted human flesh!" White-Zetsu complimented. "_**I still what all-you-can-eat corpses, though**_." Black-Zetsu added.

"Hnnnnnnnnnnn." Itachi hummed with a stick of dango in his mouth.

"How can a brat like him create something so wonderful!" Sasori questioned. Just then, Deidara came back into the dining room to see the Akatsuki with dreamy looks on their faces.

"So…I'm guessing you guys liked it, un?" Deidara asked. The Akatsuki only nodded and continued stuffing their faces. Deidara smiled at sat back down at the table next to Sasori. "Danna," the blonde began. Sasori looked up from his plate and at his blonde partner. "I just wanted to say...that I'm sorry I...you know...blew you up, un." Sasori stared at Deidara for a while, and then poked him in the forehead with his chopsticks. "Ow!"

"Apology accepted," Sasori forgave. "And I guess I'm sorry for getting so angry at you. You're actually sort of cool...for a brat, anyway." Deidara smiled. It made him happy that his new partner wasn't mad at him anymore. And so, the two artists put their attention back to their dinner.


	5. Epilouge

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two years later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deidara, now seventeen years old, sat on the edge of the mesa that doubled as the Akatsuki base, wearing his cloak and his headband, which now had a large cross through the Iwagakure symbol. The blonde artist was staring at the beautiful orange and red sunset, thinking about his life. It was almost hard for him to believe that only two years ago, he'd been a ninja in Iwagakure, and had been spirited away by two rouge ninja so that he could join an S-rank criminal organization, where he made new allies and friends.

"It feels nice to be accepted, un." Deidara whispered to himself, looking down at his left hand mouth. "Back in Iwa, I was just a tool; a weapon used to destroy and kill enemies at that the will of the Tsuchikage and our allies, even though they really didn't care about me." Deidara looked back at the sunset. "But here...in this place...I'm with people who care for me, and want to be near me, un. People who like me, and don't think of me as a weapon, but as an ally...as a friend...as a person."

"Hey, Deidara-chan." Deidara turned around to see Sasori standing behind him. "It's time to back inside. It's going get dark soon." The puppet master continued Deidara nodded, stood up and followed his master. "It's been two years since you came here, hasn't it Deidara?" Sasori asked.

"Yeah," Deidara responded, "And you know what, Sasori-no-Danna?" Sasori turned to his partner, puzzled. "It's been the best two years of my life, un." he added, smiling brightly. Sasori couldn't help but grin. And with that, the two rouge ninja walked down from the top of the mesa, leaving the beautiful sunset behind them.


End file.
